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Written by

Michele Meyer

Joe Boxer satchel / KMART

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Well played, plaid. The colorful classic shows up on women in unexpected ways this spring.

“Thanks to translucent chiffons and soft pastels, designers have made it new, light and fresh,” says YouBeauty.com’s Sam Saboura. “They blew it up, shrunk it down, making it less cowboy and more urban hipster, geek chic or ladylike.”

Plaid’s checkered past goes back to leggings on a 3,000-year-old mummy in China. More recently, madras migrated to maidens via preppy L.L. Bean or edgy Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.